Game developer Rovio on Tuesday announced that it will be renaming and/or pulling its Rovio Classics: Angry Birds on both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. Per the company, the original title is hurting the viability of Angry Birds 2 and the other modern Angry Birds releases. Fortunately, it looks like the Apple Arcade version is safe for the time being.
In an interesting counterpoint, it seems that the Apple Arcade version will remain safe for the time being.
Rovio offered the following comments via Twitter:
“We have reviewed the business case of Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, and due to the game’s impact on our wider games portfolio, we have decided that Rovio Classics: Angry Birds will be unlisted from the Google Play Store on Thursday, February 23. Additionally, the game will be renamed to Red’s First Flight in the App Store pending further review. Rovio Classics: Angry Birds will remain playable on devices on which the game has been downloaded, even after it has been unlisted.
We understand that this is sad news for many fans, as well as the team that has worked hard to make Rovio Classics: Angry Birds a reality. We are extremely grateful to the Angry Birds fans who have shown their love of the brand and this game from the beginning. We hope those fans can continue to bring that passion to our live Angry Birds slingshot games such as Angry Birds 2, Angry Birds Friends, and Angry Birds Journey, where our goal every day is to craft the best possible experience for players.”
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.